Dallas attorney Jamey Newberg has been covering the Texas Rangers, from the big club down through the entire farm system, since 1998. His website can be found at www.newbergreport.com.

Absolute Max.

From this morning’s Cleveland Plain Dealer:

Unemployed outfielder Kenny Lofton played golf at Stonewater Country Club in Highland Heights on Friday. After his round, the guy who cleaned his clubs at the pro shop said, “This team [the Indians] could use you.”

Replied Lofton, “Tell them to call me.”

When Texas traded the .303/.380/.438-hitting Lofton to the Indians in July, in exchange for Class A catcher Max Ramirez, even the most Rangers-centric among us probably didn’t expect that, 11 months later, Lofton would be the one waiting for a big league call, while Ramirez was the one getting it.

Here’s something to worry about: As a pinch-hitter this season, Ramirez is hitting .000/.000/.000.

Of course, that’s in one at-bat.

Plus, Ramirez isn’t being called up merely to give Texas someone to bat for the pitcher in Washington and Houston. Gerald Laird is expected to miss about a month, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia won’t catch every day.

Said Ron Washington after last night’s game: “Ramirez is going to play. We’ll just wait and see when he gets here how much he’s going to play.”

Ramirez’s pinch-hitting split is the anomaly. Here’s what the Texas League’s leading hitter (.363) and leading base-reacher (.457) and leading slugger (.662) and leading home run hitter (17) has done in other situations:

It won’t be until Friday that most of us will get the chance to see Ramirez wearing Rangers white, but for the next five games we have the chance — along with Kenny Lofton — to grab a couch, tune in, and watch the big league career of one of the most exciting hitters in the minor leagues get underway.

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It’ll be good to see Ramirez in a big league batters box. When he and Chris Davis were together in Frisco, they were bad news for the opposing pitcher hitting 3 and 4. What I’m looking forward to is when these 2 are reunited in Arlington. Ramirez numbers went south when Davis was promoted. Put them in the line-up hitting 7 and 8, or 8 and 9, and more bad news for the bad guys.

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